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Meet Debbie Dadey

Read an interview with Debbie and Rhys Keller
Read an interview with Debbie
Read an interview with Debbie and Marcia

 Eight things people don't know about me:

♦ I was top man on the seven man pyramid in a ski show. 

♦ I was an extra in a movie called The Music Never Stops.

♦ I was a cheerleader and played basketball on a winning team in Junior High

♦ My tennis team won second place at a state-wide competition.

♦ My brothers used to hide under my bed to scare me at night.  My oldest brother now owns a great BBQ place!

♦ I was a very cheerful McDonald's employee in High School.Debbie and McDonalds

♦ My 77th grand-mother was Cleopatra of Egypt!

Debbie Dadey Photo Hi! I'm Debbie Dadey.

I used to be Debbie Gibson when I was a little kid growing up in Kentucky. I got in trouble for talking too much in school.  In fact, I learned Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address by heart because I had to write it so much in fifth grade (punishment for talking). My older brother still lives in Kentucky. If you're ever in Henderson, KY.  stop by Thomason's BBQ for the best beans and mutton you've ever tasted and say Hi to my brother Frank.

Now I live in Sevierville, TN with my husband Eric and our dog Carmen. I'm very proud of my husband-he's a smart scientist. He worked in industry, but now he teaches pharmacy. Of course, he'd have to be special to put up with a kooky writer like me!  My kids are awesome too.  My oldest son graduated from Penn State and the University of Colorado and now I call him Dr. Nathan.  Hurrah Nathan!  My daughter attended Penn State, but now she is in graduate school.  My youngest son was the nicest guy I ever knew. He would have given you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Sadly, he died in 2020.

Some people think that the Bailey School Kids series was named after my dog Bailey, but that's not so. My grandmother's name was Lilly Bailey and I loved her very much. Marcia suggested using the name Bailey for our books and I liked it. Later, when my family got our new puppy we named her Bailey, too. Bailey was a wonderful dog and it broke my heart when she died.  Her buddy, Skippy, died just about a year later.  I like to think they are playing together in puppy heaven. Many years ago, we had Cleo and Comet. They died within months of each other as well.

I think my Grandmother had a lot to do with me being a writer.  She always kept a diary and I thought that was so cool.

I spend lots of time watching my kids do their activities, like soccer.  My youngest son was also into skateboarding and my daughter was really involved in the plays at her school.  I also like playing the piano, hiking, scrapbooking, fixing up my log cabin, tennis, reading, and writing of course!   

Here's another interview that tells the three people from the past that I'd like to have dinner with.
(photo (c) Portrait Innovations 2008)

Here's a bit more about me:
1.  Besides Marcia Jones, Nathan Dadey, and Becky Dadey-Richard Peck is my favorite author.
2.  I like to visit schools.  I even visited one in Cairo, Egypt.
3.  I was a terrible waitress in college.  I went to Western KY University.
4.  I collect birdhouses.
5.  My office overlooks the Smoky Mountains.
6.  I love to watch Broadway plays (actually any plays, especially musicals.)
7.  My father-in-law met John Wayne during WWII.
8.  My ancesters, Joel Gibson and Andrew Slack, fought in the Revolutionary War.
9.  I play the piano.
10. I sky-dived to get ideas for a book. 
11.  I have two states I haven't visited:  Oregon and Washington.

Click here for answers to frequently asked questions.
Click here for Debbie's Events Schedule.
Click HERE if you need more Debbie Dadey biography information for book reports. Click Here for a book report form.

Here are my dogs:


Shadow and Carmen and Debbie

Debbie and Shadow with Carmen
standing in front.

SKIP
"Hey, what-cha got there?
Doggie treats?"  Skip passed away
on January 18, 2016.


BAILEY
Bailey was the sweetest dog I've ever known.
She was a beloved member of our family, as
was Skip.  She passed away in 2014 at 17.5
years of age.

 

                 SHADOW

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